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by YFWE
Summary: After Rose is captured by the Huntsclan, she awakes to find herself in their base... where she overhears some dire information that could affect whether Jake lives or dies...
1. The Repetitive Nature

Hey all. This fic is a request from Dragoshine, of the American Dragon Jake Long Fan Forum. It may not be updated too often, then again, the chapters will be short.

The idea is pretty cool. But just read the summary under the link if you wanna know kind of the premises behind it. So... here we go!

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YFWE

Ch. 1: The Repetitive Nature of the Dragon vs. Huntsclan Battles

Days in the life of the American Dragon- according to Jake, that is- had become a but dull as of late. Routine, that's what it was becoming. The same thing over and over.

One day, the Huntsclan's trying to steal some rare artifact. The other, trying to capture a magical creature.

Sound familiar? Oh... that's because it's the exact same thing that's been happening ever since Jake first fought the Huntsclan.

Want to bring variety into someone's life? Talk to Jake Long; he'll be glad to take it.

But unfortunately, you can't hand that feeling to him at the moment.

Why?

He's working right now.

Yep, that's right- another memorable (sarcasm) meeting with the Huntsclan was forthcoming.

Jake and Grandpa were actually outside New York City at this point, flying over a large forest. Somewhere in there, according to Grandpa, was the Huntsclan.

It had been in recent times that Jake's alter ego had been discovered by the Huntsgirl, a.k.a. Rose. She had also been transferred to another school. But she had still been involved in the Huntsclan, although indirectly. As in, she had not been with the Huntsmaster battling the dragons. But the Huntsmaster had made it a liberty to inform them that the Huntsgirl would return soon.

Could it be tonight?

And if so, how would they react to each other?

It seemed as if she had not told the Huntsclan of his identity. They hadn't come to his house or attack him in human form or anything like that.

That much was known, and that much was good.

"Jake...", Grandpa spoke up as they reached a particularly larger-than-normal clearing of trees, "I am pretty sure that the Huntsclan is down there. In a cave nearby. Do you know why we are here?"

"Um... because we always go after the Huntsclan?"

"Well... yes, but also because there is an ancient artifact of unimaginable power hidden inside the cave. To be truthful, no one is quite sure what it even does. But promise me this- don't touch it. Who knows what it could do to you."

"No prob, G", Jake replied, focusing his attention on the ground as he landed. There was something he still couldn't shake from his mind- was Rose here? Could tonight be the night she made her reappearance?

(End)

"Huntsmaster... what exactly does this artifact look like?", the Huntsgirl/Rose asked her hair-deprived uncle as they stalked through the cave's narrow passageways, the walls illuminated only be the glow of the Huntsmaster's staff.

"I am not sure... but it will be glowing", Huntsmaster replied, "So when there is something else lighting up the cave besides my staff, we shall know."

"Okay, sure...", Rose whispered, reverting her thoughts back to what she had been thinking about before- and that was Jake.

It had been two weeks now. Two weeks since she found out his alter ego, and two weeks since she had changed schools. She hadn't told the Huntsmaster... but it was becoming apparent to her that sooner or later, she would have to.

Another thing- what about when she had to fight Jake? Could she do it?

She couldn't risk doing so in front of her uncle. She would have to do it...

She would have to fight Jake, at all costs.

The light led them into a large room in the cave. And there, sitting in the middle of the cave, was the glowing object. The artifact they had been looking for.

"Finally...", Huntsmaster eyed the object greedily. He walked over to it, and handed Rose some gloves.

"Put these on and pick it up. We don't know what it could do if a bare hand touched it..."

"And I guess you'll never find out!", yelled a voice behind them.

They whirled around to find Jake and Grandpa flying in. The two dragons landed on the other side of the object.

"Huntsmaster", Grandpa exclaimed, "You do not even know what this artifact could do! Research must be done to..."

"Oh, can it, old man. The Huntsclan could do so much more with it than you dragons EVER could...", Huntsmaster replied.

Meanwhile, as the two argued, Jake and Rose realized something.

The other was there.

Jake tried to resist looking at her, but he looked up for a second...

Their eyes met...

Jake was about to say something when...

"I've had enough of this!", the Huntsmaster yelled. One swipe of his black-gloved hand, and he sent the artifact sprawling into the air.

"Huntsgirl, get it!"

"No... J- get it, young dragon!", Grandpa cried out.

They both paused for a moment, before they both went for the object.

Down it came...

And they both caught it, one hand on each side.

As Rose had no glove on, and neither did Jake, they both felt a surge of energy course through their body, a feeling of near-electrocution.

They both fell to the ground. The object fell too, and when it touched the ground, it shattered into many pieces.

Grandpa and Huntsmaster rushed to their apprentice's side, and picked them both up.

"Another day, dragon- as always", the Huntsmaster said, and used his staff to teleport the two of them out of the cave.

Grandpa sighed, "Jake...", he whispered, waiting for a response that wouldn't come. He flew out of the cave and back towards New York City. "We will find out what is wrong with you. Do not worry... everything will be okay."

But that is where he was wrong.

For already, in Jake and Rose, a transformation had occured...

END CHAPTER

Hey hey! It's done! Um.. On a tight schedule, so... read and review! Thanks!

YFWE


	2. Winds of Change

An update! Alright! Thanks for reviewers! I don't have time to respond, but I will next chapter. Enjoy!

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YFWE

Ch. 2: Winds of Change

"What do ya think we should do?", Fu asked after he had been briefed on the events in the cave that had occurred a few hours prior. He and Grandpa stood over the near-lifeless body of Jake, the up-and-down movement of his chest being the only real reassurance of life.

Grandpa seemed to saturate this question as much as he could before answering, "I do not know."

But of course he wouldn't. After all, even in his seemingly infinite wisdom, the old dragon was simply dumbfounded because neither he, nor the Huntsmaster, had known what the artifact they had been after actually did. And, it appeared that not knowing this would leave a lasting impression on the both of them.

"Hey... don't sweat it, Gramps", Fu tried to comfort him to the best of his ability, although any act of doing so seemed rather pointless, "Maybe he just needs the night to sleep; he might feel better in the morning..."

"Thank you, Fu. You are very kind", Grandpa thanked him, but didn't budge, "However, I think I would rather stay down here with Jake tonight. You go on to bed."

"Bed! Hell, Gramps, I'm goin' out clubbin' tonight!", exclaimed Fu happily, "I got a reservation at Seasons Night Club. Heard of it?"

"No."

"Well, that's 'cause you're not 'hip' with today's trends, unlike myself", he said, "FYI, Seasons houses some of the most famous celebrities from around the world!"

"Oh?"

"Yeah... so, um... have fun with Jake tonight!", Fu waved goodbye as he walked out the shop's front door and onto the sidewalk outside, heading toward his destination.

Grandpa sighed, looking down once more at Jake, "I wish I could have 'fun'", he said, "But I am concerned that... Jake could possibly not last through the night."

(End)

This possibility haunted Grandpa throughout that night. Jake only stirred once, mumbling incoherently when he did so. At about 2 that morning.

Strangely enough, the exact same thing happened at the Huntslair.

The Huntsmaster, for the first time in a while, was actually a bit fearful. Fearful for the well-being of his niece, Rose. For he hadn't known what had happened to her. He didn't know her condition- could she be dying? All he knew was that she was unconscious, and the American Dragon was having the exact same issues.

But, just like Jake, at two that morning, she, too, said _something... _

But what?

It sounded like...

"The winds of change are upon us..."

But was that really it? Their voices were so unclear...

But neither the Huntsmaster nor Grandpa thought anything of it.

Speaking meant life. And that meant that their pupils were still alive.

But for how long?

It was about four AM when Grandpa finally dosed off. Fu had yet to come back, and he was tired.

But upon awaking the next morning, there was a startling sight to behold.

Jake wasn't lying there anymore.

In fact, albeit creepy, he was staring at Grandpa from across the room.

"Good morning...", he said sinisterly.

"Jake!", Grandpa got up quickly, "You're..."

"Alive? Well, yes. The same?", he smiled wickedly, "Not so much."

"Wh-what do you mean?"

"What do I mean, old man?"

"Old man... Jake, what is wrong with you?"

"I see everything clearer now", Jake said, "And it doesn't involve your stupid dragon ways..."

Jake concentrated, bringing his arm forward. And within seconds, a large weapon appeared in his hand.

Grandpa knew that weapon. All too well.

"It's a..."

"Property of the Huntsclan", Jake grinned.

Grandpa's eyes widened in disbelief.

What was going on? Had Jake... switched sides?

(End)

Rose groggily awoke that morning, finding herself on a couch in the Huntslair. She couldn't remember a thing... why was she there?

What had happened? She slowly sat up, her bones aching as she did so. She remembered... she went for the artifact, she and Jake did. But... what about after that?

"Good, you're awake", the voice of the Huntsmaster came behind her.

She quickly stood, and turned around to face her uncle. But in doing so, a wave of nausea seemed to come over her, and she sat back down.

"Something the matter? You don't look too well...", he said, a hint of concern in his rough voice.

"Uh... no, nothing's wrong", she lied, an awful feeling in the pit of her stomach rising.

"Well... good. You had me worried", he said, and began to walk out of the room.

Rose sighed, and put her hands over her face. There WAS something wrong with her. But... she couldn't tell what.

"Ow!', she yelled, taking her hands from her face. Something had pricked her forehead. Something sharp. But what?

She brought her hands up to her eyes and saw..._ the tip of a silver claw poking out from one of her fingers._

"What the..."

She watched in horror as he hands twisted and curled, the skin on them becoming yellow and scaly, and claws forming on the other fingers.

Like a dragon's claws.

"Rose, I heard you yell. Is something the matter?", the Huntsmaster asked as he walked in. He saw her and froze dead in his tracks...

END CHAPTER

Hah! A cliffie, once more! Well... not much else to say. Read and review! Thanks!

YFWE


	3. Reflections

I updated! Thanks to all reviewers; you all are awesome! This has become my favorite story to write now, so... hopefully updates will be coming weekly from now on.

Reviewers from the first two chapters:

jazzy90210: Thanks a lot!

CelloSolo2007: Darnit, get ungrounded so you can update some of your fanfics::coughinterns,mostlycoughcough: Thanks!

Lavenderpaw: Thanks! One of my best since DIP? Well, cool. Hope I can beat DIP this time.

Jasikaermine: Kids Next Door! Aah!

The Element Dragon: I didn't steal the idea. It was a request. So maybe the commissioner did... :D

Emerald Dark Knight: It's freaky? Hm.. Cool! XD

QWERTYkid911: It's getting good, at the second chapter? Damn... this fic might actually be good! 00

coolgirlc: You're... twins. Um... cool, I guess.

Emachinescat: I have done cliffhangers since the day I started writing. They're all I like to do. :D

Da4EverAddict2ADJL: Hah! Cliffhanger hater!

Let's get started!

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YFWE

Ch. 3: Reflections

Had Jake switched sides?

The black Huntsclan weapon he was holding was extremely reminiscent to one that any member of the Huntsclan would use. Even more so, it was basically identical to the Huntsgirl's.

"Surprised?", Jake smiled slyly, "I wouldn't be if I were you. You know what's going on... oh, that's right. You don't. Even you, the great Lao Shei, hasn't a clue."

"Well then let me fill you in- the artifact we went after, remember it? We, of course, didn't know what it was, or what it'd do. Neither did the Huntsclan. And even now, I still am unsure of its greatest potential. But I DO know the name..."

Jake stared at Grandpa in the eye, "The Crystal of Tilton. From a small town in Denmark. How it was somehow transported to New York is beyond me, but it matters no more. For as you surely know, it's gone. Shattered into a million pieces."

"Jake... I don't understand. How do you know all this? What is wrong with you? Where did the Huntsclan weapon come from...?", Grandpa was confused.

"Quite simple, really", replied Jake, "Touching the Crystal- it opened my eyes. It _changed _me. For instance...", he twitched his Huntsclan weapon, "I found that I could make weapons such as this appear at will. Not only that, you wanna know the most important thing?", he lowered himself to Grandpa's level, "I've officially lost my dragon powers. No more 'dragon up!' for me! But it's not a big deal, because there's something new in my life- a hatred", he frowned, "A hatred of you dragons!"

"No! You're lying!"

"Lying is for cowards, Gramps. And I ain't no coward- you've always known that."

"What're you going to do, Jake? You- the Dragon Council knows your identity! They hunt you down, and- I cannot let you join the Huntsclan!", Grandpa exclaimed.

"Lesee... first off, I already joined the Huntsclan. Well, technically, I never joined. Touching the Crystal made it kinda 'come to be', y'know? And second, we'll- and notice I said we, as in the Huntsclan- be taking care of the Dragon Council soon enough. So don't YOU worry. For now, that is. Now... whoever becomes the American Dragon, that's who I'd be worrying about. Been thinking of a replacement yet? You're gonna need one."

He turned to leave, "My work here is done. In fact- I don't think I'll be back again. Farewell, Grandpa- 'til we meet again."

"I will not tolerate this! I will not let you leave!", Grandpa took a step forward.

"That so?", he paused, "We'll see about that!" He whirled around, pointing his newfound Huntsclan weapon at his grandfather. A large net came out, and engulfed him, as he fell to the ground.

"There's nothing you can do... so sit back, relax, and enjoy the show."

(End)

The Huntsmaster stared in shock at the yellow dragon claws Rose was now sporting. She was... no, it couldn't... yes, it was! A dragon's claws.

"Uncle! It's not what it looks like! I-"

"Get out", he said quietly.

"I'm serious, I have no idea..."

"Get out." Growing intensity.

"This is just a misunderstanding, maybe from what happened last night!"

"OUT!", he yelled at the top of his lungs, pointing his long staff at her. Rose let out a small cry, and sprinted out of the room. She knew now she couldn't stay. Whatever was happening, her uncle wasn't helping. She had to get out.

She ran to the door, opened it, and took one last look back at the Huntslair. She felt her vision blur- and then sharpen- becoming much clearer than it had been before. Another change. She sighed, and shut the door.

Running outside...

Her whole body ached.

"Dammit- what's happening to me?", she grunted. "My hands- they're like... a dragon's!"

She sighed, "Dragons. They got me into this mess!"

She slid her enlarged hands into her pockets, "Somehow... I gotta find a way to reverse... whatever's happening to me. But how?"

Rose walked down the sidewalk, a bit dizzy. After all, she had different vision now- something she was still getting used to.

Another pain in her stomach.

"No... not here", she moaned, for she knew that another change would be occuring.

RIIIIIPPPP!

Rose winced. She knew what had just happened.

"I just grew a tail", she cried, noting the yellow-and-green spiked tail now twitching behind her, "And I LIKE these pants!"

People had begun to stare. Even New Yorkers can be a little freaked out seeing a girl grow a tail.

She ducked into an alleyway, "This'll have to do for now", she said to herself, "The subway's not too far- maybe I can hide there."

She continued onward, finding a trenchcoat on the ground. "I might need this...", she said, putting it on over her clothes. There was still a bulge behind her where her tail was, but other than that- it worked pretty well.

The subway entrance was a few paces from the alley. Down she went, hoping to find refuge in its walls.

When downstairs, she found a bench to sit upon. "Perfect", she smiled, making her way over, and sitting down. Here, she could think. About what to do.

She fell asleep while she was there. Unintentionally, but yet, it was a bit soothing. To be able to calm down. But the calm feeling was erased when she was awoken.

By someone she never expected to see- not here.

"So... I see what the Crystal has done to you", the voice said.

"Wha?"

She slowly opened her eyes- and saw Jake standing above her. Jake... Jake was a dragon! He could help her!

"Jake! You're just the person I wanted to see!"

"Are you so sure about that... dragon?"

"Huh? Jake, what are you talking about?", Rose realized that while she had slept, her face had become a dragon snout. God, how weird she probably looked now!

"Can it. Here's the thing- as an apprentice of the Huntsmaster, I know that it is MY duty to slay a dragon. And look at this- a dragon! Luck is comin' to me today!"

"What's wrong with you, Jake? Why are you..."

"Are you really that much of a dumbass? Well, let me fill ya in- we've been switched. You're a dragon, I'm in the Huntsclan. And you of all people know my destiny..."

"No...", Rose was on the verge of tears. She had made Jake like this... She had turned him evil!

"So... how 'bout you get up and fight, bitch!", he willed his Huntsclan staff to appear, "I'll show you TRUE fear! Hm... I've been in the Huntsclan for two hours, and I'm already gonna slay my first dragon!"

"You won't!", Rose ripped off her trenchcoat, and her tattered clothing fell to the floor. She had nearly become a full yellow dragon- minus a vital part, the wings.

"Ah, a fighter, eh? I respect that... about as much as I respect any other dragon!" He rushed toward her, staff pointed forward.

"Aah!", Rose turned her back, bracing for impact. Her tail whipped around... and hit Jake square in the chest. "Oomph!", he was sent sprawling back, slamming into a pillar.

Once more, there were people staring at this quarrel. A dragon... and some kid with a large pointed weapon. 9-1-1 worthy, I believe.

"The police have been notified", someone said, "We'll get these jokers outta here..."

"Police? Ah... well, seems like I gotta split, dragon", Jake grinned, "I LET you win this time, but next time... you may not be so lucky. Farewell!", and he dashed up the stairs and out into the sun.

Rose frowned, breathing heavily. She looked around at the people, whined, grabbed her trenchcoat, and took off up the stairs as well.

A pain in her stomach.

Good, Rose thought, I'm gonna get some wings.

And they did come, a few moments later. As if she had known how to fly for a few years, Rose took off, up to the building tops.

I did this to him...

Tears streamed from her face. She felt guilty- for everything that had happened. Even if it wasn't really her fault. She felt sorry...

I made Jake evil.

She sighed sadly, touching down on one of the building tops.

She would cry herself to sleep, the only thing she could do to get the pain away...

END CHAPTER

Whoo! I finished! Not as big a cliffhanger as last time, but still- what's gonna happen next? Well, you best be waiting for my update! Later, all!

YFWE


	4. Through the Eyes of Regret

I have resurrected this story from the ashes that is last week. Why? Because I like this story, and a few of you do, too! So here it is! But first, reviewers!

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YFWE

Ch. 4- Through the Eyes of Regret

I made him evil...

Rose was blaming herself for it all. Even if, in fact, it wasn't exactly her fault.

On the other hand, if she hadn't been the Huntsgirl, hadn't been so into the extermination of magical creatures (most notably dragons), Jake wouldn't have become this... this monster that he was now.

She wasn't sure exactly where she was at that moment, as she had attempted to get out of the subway, away from Jake, as quickly as she could. She had soared above the tops of the buildings, eyes stinging from the tears she had been crying the whole way. She landed atop what appeared to be an apartment building, although she couldn't be sure. She wasn't quite familiar with this part of the city.

Rose was full dragon now- she had been for a good half hour. She was beginning to become a bit more used to being a dragon, although there were still some things she was shaky on. Some things she couldn't even do yet. One of which was quite important.

"Someone help me...," she whispered to no one in particular, "I- I can't change back!"

She was stick in dragon form.

Rose wept some more. Would she ever be human again? Or was she destined to live the rest of her life as a creature she had fought so hard to kill?

She couldn't stay in New York. Someone would see her sooner or later. The Huntsclan would find her- and, what with her novice abilities as a dragon, they'd kill her quickly and with little resistance.

If only she hadn't been a part of the Huntsclan to begin with. If only she hadn't gone with the Huntsmaster to retrieve the Crystal of Tilton.

It all came back to her; everything pointed at her.

Everything was her fault.

"My fault," she whimpered. "Someone help!"

"Excuse me?"

The voice had come from behind her. Rose slowly turned her head to face it.

The slightly obese Sharpei we all know as Fu Dog stood there.

"Er... you okay?" Fu asked.

"Uh..., " Rose moaned. She shut her eyes again and fell asleep.

"Damn. Yo, Gramps, we got a dragon up on the rooftop... again," Fu shouted to Grandpa inside the house. "Wanna let me try and wake it up?"

"Fu... the last time I let you, you used ice water. And, while it was quite effective, it was also the Indian Dragon- and their country does not take too kindly to that sort of thing. Let me handle this," Grandpa said.

"You take the fun out of everything. Okay, have fun up there. I'll be watching Walker, Texas Ranger if you need me."

"Okay...," Grandpa replied. He emerged outside to see the unmoving form of a dragon on his rooftop. It was actually kind of large- most definitely larger than Jake.

Jake...

Grandpa had forgotten. About his encounter with Jake earlier that morning. How Jake had received a Huntsclan weapon... somehow. And how Jake had caught him in a net and left him for dead.

Of course, it had taken a strong effort from Fu the late-sleeper to get him out.

"I do not know who you are, but... maybe you can help me. With my grandson, Jake...," he took her inside.

(End)

He didn't know how he'd gotten there. Jake figured that it was because of his newfound Huntsclan staff that did the trick. He walked inside the large building he had been drawn to. He knew the place; he'd been there before.

It was Rose's home.

Or... it was her home when she was part of the Huntsclan!

"Yo, Huntsmaster! Jake Long is in the hizzouse, ya heard?"

"What on earth?" Huntsmaster had been in the Huntslair, trying to comprehend what had happened to his niece, Rose. It almost appeared as if she had been becoming a dragon! But how? His thoughts were interrupted with the arrival of Jake.

"Who are you? What right to you have to come into my home without knocking first!"

"Why am I here? C'mon, man- didn't ya get the memo? I'm your new apprentice! The newest member of the Huntsclan!" Jake grinned.

"I know your voice...," the Huntsmaster said thoughtfully, which then turned to anger, "you're the American Dragon!"

"Whoa, whoa! Chill out! I USED to be the American Dragon! Until Huntsgirl and I switched! Now you're looking at the NEW Huntsgirl! Um... wait, that didn't come out right."

"How can I be so sure?" the Huntsmaster growled doubtfully.

"Lesee... how 'bout this?" Jake held up his new Huntsclan weapon. "This enough proof?"

"How did you..."

"I'm part of the Huntsclan, dude! Now, when do we start?"

The Huntsmaster was alarmed. This Jake Long... the former American Dragon... he was telling the truth! "Yes, let's...," he grinned, "But first, for a name!"

"I hereby christen you... Huntsboy!"

(End)

"So... you want me to... help you?" Rose asked Grandpa, who stood beside her. She was lying on a bed inside Grandpa's home, and he had just briefed her on what he wanted.

"I do not know what's happened to Jake, but... we need him back. He is the American Dragon, after all."

Rose had begun to feel guilty. Here she was, their former enemy, near acceptance to help them. They didn't even know who she was!

"Uh... I don't know if I can."

"Why not?" Grandpa asked. "You are a dragon! Think of it as helping one of your own!"

"Because, in effect, that's exactly what it is," Fu sighed.

"I'm serious! Do you know who I am!" she shouted.

"No, actually."

"Lao Shei! I'm the Huntsgirl! Or... I was! I'm your enemy! Or... I was. Damn, this is confusing!"

"The Huntsgirl?" Grandpa was alarmed. "That cannot be true! Show us your human form! This is madness!"

"I can't!"

"Why?"

"I can't change back!"

Her sudden dramatic rise in voice startled Grandpa. He was starting to realize that... maybe, just maybe, she WAS telling the truth.

And then that, of course, would explain Jake's sudden switch to the side of the Huntsclan.

"Let me help you, then," he said. "Concentrate. Imagine yourself, your human form. You CAN do it."

"And here," Fu smirked sheepishly, "put this blanket on over you. In case you change back and we find you in the nude."

"FU!"

"Hey, I'm just sayin'..."

"Concentrate...," Rose repeated. She imagined her body. Herself the previous day. Before any of this had happened.

She felt her tail retract a bit into her body.

"Um..."

"It's good! You're doing fine! Just keep doing that...," Grandpa said reassuringly.

And Rose did so until all her dragon features had disappeared and she was back in her human form.

"I... did it!"

"Good!" Grandpa said.

"See! I told you you'd need that blanket..."

"FU!"

"Okay, I can see when I'm not wanted, " He slunk out of the room.

Grandpa rolled his eyes and turned back to Rose. "Oh... you're right, you ARE the Huntsgirl! I can tell from your hair..."

"Mmhmm, " Rose smiled. "It feels so good to be back in my own body!"

"I am sure it does! Now, all that aside, I have a proposition for you."

"Helping you find Jake, I know."

"That... and something else," Grandpa stared her straight in the eye. "Do you... take all responsibilities as the new American Dragon?"

Rose gasped slightly. She hadn't expected this. "I dunno... I'm not that good..."

"I will teach you."

Rose thought about it. She remembered her guilt a few hours prior. How she felt responsible for Jake being what he was now. Within a few seconds, she had her answer.

"Yes... I take full responsibilities as the new American Dragon."

END CHAPTER

Yay! I finished! Read and review, y'all!

YFWE


	5. Dragon Training

I hereby update! XD

Thanks to reviewers of the last two chapters: coolgirlc, ADJL-Freakazoid, QWERTYkid911, EmeraldDarkKnight, lavenderpaw, Elyon W.I.T.C.H, Tseu Tsumi, Catwater, Fudogg, atecom, TheElementDragon, Worker72, AmDragon, The HalfaWannabe, Digimon ruler. 9, and Thorn273!

And as for a few reviewer replies:

Fudogg: How did she know Grandpa's real name? The Huntsclan knows the dragon master's identity, remember? It's likely they know his name as well.

Atecom: Yes, I'm sure it did go a bit fast. I rush through my fanfics, I won't deny it! I'm trying to slow down a bit, work on them a little more, and then maybe it will become a little bit better of a fanfic.

Worker72: I can't tell you that right now, but... all will be revealed as the story progresses. :)

Amdragon: Jake's staff came from his ability to make those things appear out of thin air, remember? He found he was able to do this when he became a Huntslclan member, and that is why he has the staff. Oh, and what do you mean about my style being interesting? XD

The Halfa Wannabe: I wanted to make a poem back at ya, but I couldn't think of one... til now.

Goddamn this thing,

I can't rhyme anything!

Yay! XD

And special thanks to: Pen Dragon, aacid, dragoshine, AmericanHuntsgirlRose, and ADJLFanatic at the ADJL Fan Forums.

If anyone would like to join, email me and I will give you the URL.

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YFWE

Ch. 5: Training Begins

_Dreaming of screaming  
Someone kick me out of my mind  
I hate these thoughts I can't deny _

System of a Down, "Dreaming"

_You did it..._

The girl tossed and turned in her bed, a bed in which she had never slept. It was a bit lumpy, unlike her bed back home. But it had worked. Up until now, as darkness invaded her dreams.

_It is your fault..._

"No... no," Rose mouthed these words with severe trembling motions, her face was covered in sweat.

_He'd still be here, if it weren't for you..._

The voice that spoke to her from the far reaches of her mind gained strength. Gained volume. It was trying to make her feel sorry. And it was working.

Given a few more minutes, it was possible that Rose would go insane with confusion and regret. That is, if it weren't for Grandpa.

"Rose! Rose, I heard you- what is wrong?" he shouted into her ear, trying to wake her up and release her from this dream.

"H-huh?" Rose's eyes slowly began to flutter open, and she sat up and stared at Grandpa. "What's going on?"

"Bad dream," he replied. "Be glad I got here. Now, it is eight o'clock. You must begin your dragon training today, remember?"

"Ah... yeah, sure," Rose had for the most part forgotten about her training. But now that she remembered... she was wide awake and ready to start it. She knew that doing this was the only way that she could avenge what she had done to Jake.

"It is not exactly the warmest day today... so meet me on the rooftop, and be sure to wear some warm clothes," said Grandpa.

"Um... this is all I have," Rose said, referring to the sweatpants and shirt Grandpa had lent her. "I kinda need some clothes."

"Ah, yes. Fu Dog! Go buy her some clothes!"

"Aw... do I have to, Gramps? I'm not you servant, after all...," Fu called from downstairs.

"You are today. Go."

Fu muttered a few indistinct words, and Grandpa heard the door shut, signifying that he had left.

"Um... got a question," Rose said. "He's kind of... a dog. He can't just walk into some store and expect to buy something, can he?"

"You doubt Fu Dog? Do not worry, he is going to the Magical Village. He is welcome there, of course," Grandpa reassured her.

"Magical Village? So... you mean that, all along, there was some sort of a magical underground?"

"Yes. To be truthful, I am surprised the Huntsclan has never found it."

The two of them waited there for about fifteen minutes, until Fu returned with a pile of clothes.

"Found these on the clearance rack, a dollar each," he said as he heaved the pile onto the bed beside Rose. "If it's not good enough- too bad. That's my slogan."

Rose found a particular white T-shirt and jeans that she liked and put them on.

"Ready?" asked Grandpa.

"Hell yeah."

(End)

"Huntsboy, wake up!" the Huntsmaster shouted that same morning in the Huntslair. Jake awoke groggily in his new bed, actually the one that Rose had once slept in, except the room was a bit changed. Her uncle had a little temper tantrum in that room after Rose left, we shall say.

"Y-yo, Huntsmaster- what's up with this? Whatever happened to sleepin' in early, huh?"

"That's how the dragons do it, I'll wager," the Huntsmaster said. "We make it a point to stray as far away as possible from all things that the dragons may do."

"Damn- you guys must have no fun here."

"We have family board game night every Tuesday. Now get dressed- it is time for your first lesson in the Huntsclan!"

"Uh... can it wait 'til noon?"

"Huntslair, ASAP! Now!"

(End)

"First things first," Grandpa said, "We need to master your transformation. You've changed once, yes?"

"Yeah."

"And your clothes ripped when you did so?"

"Once again- yeah."

"Hm...," Grandpa thought, "I believe that is because you had no control over your transformation. So... let's try and change again, for starters."

"How should I do that?" Rose asked.

"Same thing as when you reverted back to human," he explained. "This time, though, visualize your dragon form instead of your human form."

Rose concentrated. Saw her yellow dragon form in her mind. Pictured herself becoming that dragon once more...

A brilliant flash of light! Blue flame surrounded her entire body. Her frame expanded upward behind the flames.

After a few seconds, the flames died down. And a yellow dragon stood in the place of Rose.

"Good...," Grandpa smiled as Rose looked her new form over, "it's a good start. Now... it's time for some combat skills."

"Combat? Already?" asked Rose.

"A part of being the American Dragon is protecting magical creatures," Grandpa said, "and in order to do that, you need to learn to fight as a dragon."

He continued, "Your training with the Huntsclan should have served you well in this field. So you may already be a good fighter. However, you have no experience as a dragon. This is what we shall be working on today."

"Okay. I'm ready," Rose said.

"First lesson- using your tail for combat. I will throw Fu at you. You must catch him with your tail."

"Say WHAT, Gramps?" Fu had no idea anyone had known he was there. "There's no way..."

"Fu, oh Fu... be a good boy and come to Grandpa."

"You are a sick, twisted dragon, you know that?" Fu sighed as he walked over to Grandpa.

"Ready?" Grandpa went full dragon and picked Fu up.

"Ready."

Fu was hurled airborne at Rose.

Upon seeing Fu's pleading eyes, Rose instinctively whipped up her tail to try and catch him. Unfortunately, she was just a little late. And over the side of the building went Fu.

"No!"

Rose jumped over the side of the building and beat her wings once. Twice. Three times, considering heavy objects fall fast and, well... Fu is a... you get the picture.

But luckily, Rose was able to catch him and land on the street below with ease.

The issue, of course, involved other humans staring at the two.

"Um... hey look, it's Mr. T!" Fu pointed.

They all turned around, and flew back up to the building top.

"Er... maybe we should skip tail training today," retorted Grandpa.

END CHAPTER


	6. Of Tours and New Armor

An update! Wow... I haven't updated this in a while. Sorry, y'all. Been real busy. And swim team and track practices haven't been helping. Ah well. Man, I'm such a jock. XX

Thanks to reviewers: Thorn273, CelloSolo2007, atecom, Am-Drag Fan, Worker72, cool, Amdragon, TheElementDragon, and Master Whiz!

And a few replies:

TheElementDragon: Mr. T is a character of the show 'A-Team', about superheroes. He is famous for the quote 'I pity da fool!' :)

And also thanks to reviewers at the ADJL Fan Forums: TechnoGirl87, AmericanHuntsgirlRose (aka Thorn273 here), dragoshine, aacid, and ADJLFanatic (of course, ADJL-Freakazoid here) As always, if you want to join, PM me or follow the link in Raffi's (ADJL-Freakazoid) profile!

Kay, here we go! I was so bored, I decided to try and not be serious in this chapter and instead make it halfway funny. Hope y'all enjoy! And no, I won't sell you donuts.

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YFWE

Ch. 6: Of Tours and New Armor

"Alright, kid- while your Grandpa's takin' a little 'break' from your training, I'm been deployed to give you a tour of the magical underground village, show you around, yadda yadda yadda...," Fu rambled on as he and Rose walked down the sidewalk near Grandpa's shop. The entrance to the Magical Village was in its vicinity. However, there was a problem. "I don't exactly remember WHERE the entrance is."

"How? You've been there so many times...," Rose said, a bit stunned, "wouldn't you know where to go?"

"You see... every time I go, I go with Gramps. I have no clue how to get in."

"Then how'd you get my clothes?" she asked, referring to the clothes she had on at that moment. "Lao said you had to go to the Magical Village..."

"Uh... well, he may think I went there...," Fu confessed, "but in reality, I know the guy that is the cousin of the security guard that runs the 4:00 shift at JC Penney. So... yeah, that's where your clothes came from."

"Ah, I see... I think."

"So... ANYWAY...," Fu said, "Until I can either guess how to get there or find someone that does know, we're screwed."

Rose sighed. This was going to be difficult. But wasn't it always?

(End)

"Huntsboy, this is the Huntslair."

Jake stared around at the immense room he was standing in, breathing a sigh of amazement. All sorts of uniforms, weapons... almost everything anyone could think of.

"Yo, you got a lot in here, I'll give ya that," said Jake, "but... it's still missin' somethin'..."

"We just signed an action figure deal with Mattel; is that what you mean?" asked the Huntsmaster.

"Naw... I mean me! The party's started... now that the Jakesta's here, ya heard?"

"Eh... sure," he said, walking over to a particular wall of uniforms. "Now... I'm unsure of your clothing size, but it appears that it should be an exact fit."

"Wha? What the hell are you talkin' about?" Jake asked.

"Ah... you wish to know?" the Huntsmaster said slyly. He pressed a closeby button and waited.

A blue suit of armor lowered from a hole in the ceiling, right in front of Jake.

"Wow... this thing's awesome!" exclaimed Jake. "So... who's it for?"

"Jesse McCartney," Huntsmaster said.

"Really? Wow, that'll really give us some endorsements! I mean, with a celebrity and all, we'll be pimpin'..."

The Huntsmaster slapped himself in the face. This kid took things WAY too literally. "No, Huntsboy... it's for you."

"Aw... so no Jesse?"

"No Jesse."

"Damn, why'd you have to get my hopes up?"

The Huntsclan leader rolled his eyes, "Just put the suit on. It will be your Huntsclan uniform. Specially made for-"

"Jesse McCartney?"

"NO!"

"Joking, joking," Jake took a step back.

"It was specially made for my niece, the former Huntsgirl. But... since she is no longer in the Huntsclan, it is yours. Try it on, and come back here. We have a lot of training to do and very little time; tonight, we have a 'meeting' with an underground con man. Understand?"

"I understand that y'all in the Huntsclan can't take a joke..."

"What was that?"

"Aw, nothin'... nothin' at all."

(End)

It took them a good hour, but soon enough, Rose and Fu were able to find the entrance to the Magical Village. (Fu received the directions from a friend of a friend's grandfather, and he wrote it down so he would remember it for future reference. And then, when the two of them stopped in the local Denny's to make fun of the waitresses, he left it with the check. Folks, this is what we call 'irresponsible.' Save the whales.)

So their tour began. "That's the Potion Mart...," Fu explained, pointing to a store engraved into the side of a large rock, "go there for all your potion needs. And they also sell Yu-Gi-Oh cards. That vendor in the middle of the street is Pixieschnitzel. Ten words- Pixieschnitzels are good. Really good. Really, really good. No question."

While Rose counted in her mind to make sure that it was really ten words, Fu dragged on about all kinds of things about the Magical Village- mostly about its history and about how good the Pixieschnitzels were. Again.

During this 'offtime', she began to think. Thought of Jake and her uncle. What were they doing right now? Had Jake really become a member of the Huntsclan.

If so, then it was likely that he would tell her uncle that she was a dragon- even though the Huntsmaster, for the most part, knew already. They would figure that she would've taken refuge with Lao Shei, and they would come after them.

She hadn't even mastered her dragon powers yet. In fact, if Jake or someone else from the Huntsclan was to attack her at that very moment, she wouldn't stand a ghost of a chance.

What would she do? What _could _she do? She wanted to help protect the magical creatures that lived in New York. It was her duty- she was the American Dragon now.

But one question loomed in her mind, as she and Fu left the Magical Village following the end of their tour.

Had she made a mistake by accepting the burden of the American Dragon?

END CHAPTER

Hah! I love watching my brother, sister, and two family friends. Why? 'Cause I get paid, dammit! Prior, I had one f'ing dollar. After tonight... who knows? XD All I know is... go buy the new System of a Down CD, y'all! It is definitely one of my faves of all time, up there with SOAD's other newer CD, Mesmerize, plus Shinedown's Us and Them, Avenged Sevenfold's City of Evil and Alter Bridge's One Day Remains. (Heh... the critics hated that one. I just fail to see how- it is so awesome! One of the only CDs in which I can stand to listen to EVERY track.) I am SO gonna buy Shinedown's old CD with my newfound money, and maybe Trans-Siberian Orchestra. THE PIMP, DAMMIT! Read and review, and go give a balloon with a smiley face to someone you don't know! Laters, y'all!

YFWE the mo'fo'ing nerd from Ohio. WHHHHAAAAAATTTTTTTTTTTT


	7. The First Test

I am finally updating! Yay! Hope y'all enjoy and stuff.

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YFWE

Ch. 7: The First Test

It was well near 6 when Rose and Fu, quite the tired duo after their tour of the Magical Village, returned to Grandpa's shop. God knows what he had been doing while they had been gone, but really, it didn't matter.

This was because, as they soon found out, they had much bigger fish to fry.

"Gramps, we're home," Fu announced as soon as the two of them entered through the front door of the shop. It was quiet inside. Actually, too quiet. So quiet it almost felt like a sin.

However, the silence was broken a few moments later, when Grandpa did appear in the doorway that led to one of the back rooms. "Ah, Fu, Rose...," he said, "I am glad you are here... we have a minor problem."

"Yeah? What?" Rose threw herself onto the couch in the living room, folding her arms across her chest.

"Well... it appears that... Fu, you remember the satyr colony that lives near the Saint Thomas Cathedral, yes?"

"How could I forget? We had a great time macking on those cupcakes!"

Awkward silence.

"Wha-?"

"Oh, never mind," Fu sighed. "Yeah, I remember 'em."

"Yes, well... their safe house has been attacked. Nearly the entire colony has been taken hostage inside. One was able to escape- Gharida Trujik, the one that works down in the Magical Village; he was returning from work when he saw the commotion inside and ran to the City Council, of all places."

"John Smith called me about an hour ago. He'd like us to look into it. Especially because...," he paused.

"Because... what?" asked Rose.

"... he told me that the Huntsclan is a prime suspect in the attack."

Rose gasped.

"How's that any different than any other time?" Fu chimed in. "I mean... isn't the Huntsclan ALWAYS behind everything?"

"It's not that!" Rose snapped. "It's..."

"Oh, I see," Fu said knowingly. "Jake."

She nodded slowly.

"I do not want to do this either...," sighed Grandpa, putting his hand on her shoulder as if to comfort her, "but it was bound to happen sooner or later- you know that."

"Furthermore, when you accepted the responsibilities as the American Dragon, you swore that you would protect any and all magical creatures, at all costs, yes?"

"Yeah."

"Well then... it is time to keep your promise," he stood up and walked toward the door to outside. "You must do this- a fellow magical creature's life is at stake. Come to think of it... many lives are at stake. We must do this."

Rose blinked through watery eyes. Grandpa was right. Even if Jake was there... she would have to fight. A confrontation with Jake, it seemed, was inevitable.

Shaking slightly, Rose brought herself upright and said, "Yes. Okay, I'll do it. But one thing, though."

"Hm?"

"I haven't even mastered my dragon powers yet!" she blurted out. "All I really know how to do well is become a dragon!"

"Not that it's a bad thing...," Fu commented. "I mean, if you weren't able to change..."

"We've no time for this, Fu. Rose is right- she is about as novice as they come," Grandpa stared transfixed at the ground, obviously in deep thought.

"I suppose that much of what we do tonight will be of my doing- or most of the fighting, I should say." He turned to Rose. "Follow along with me- try to do what I do. This, young dragon, shall be your first real test of your dragon abilities. I know you are not that skilled- but you were somehow able to repel Jake before, right?"

Rose grimaced. Yes, she had. But that thought didn't quite help- it only made her think more of Jake- what she felt she had done to him.

"I am sure that you will be fine," he said. "Now, we must be off! The safe house is ten minutes by sky, and who knows how much time we have before the Huntsclan takes them away! Prepare yourself- we are leaving now."

(END)

And, as Grandpa had estimated, it did take them ten minutes to reach the house. (Seriously... Fu was using a timer- that's how incredibly bored he was.)

Grandpa and Rose swooped down to the pavement- making sure there was no one around before hand, of course.

The safe house was an apartment building on 68th street, and it was rare that many people actually passed by the place. The colony had a leader named Ebi Ferafalo, who could alter his appearance to make himself look human. This was quite the amenity when the Jehovah's Witnesses came to the front door.

As Grandpa and Rose landed, they realized that it was completely quiet inside- no lights on, even.

"You think that maybe the Huntsclan already have taken them back to the Huntslair?" Rose asked.

"Somehow, I do not think so...," Grandpa said softly, taking a step forward. "Quickly, let's get inside, before..."

"Before what?"

The voice caught all three of them by surprise. Firstly, because there had been no one in sight. And second of all, because they knew that voice. It was a voice... that was not supposed to be here.

The Huntsmaster leaped in front of them, clutching his staff in one hand. "You are not going anywhere... isn't that right, Huntsboy?"

"OW!"

A trash can clattered to the ground behind the scene. They whirled around to see... Jake. In uniform. And on the ground after tripping over a trash can.

"Yo! I'm cool, I'm cool!" he pulled himself off the ground and dashed in front of them as well.

"Jake...," Rose whispered.

"That's my name, girl. Now what the hell are YOU doin' here?"

"Exactly what I was going to ask," the Huntsmaster snarled.

"Do not play dumb with us," Grandpa laughed. "We know what you are up to."

"Do you, now?" the Huntsmaster nodded appreciatively. "Well then... you know that it would be wrong to get in our way, would you not?"

"In your dreams," Rose sneered.

"Well then say hello to my little friend!" Jake yelled, pulling out a small, round, colorless ball. He threw it at the ground, and it exploded on impact, unleashing a great screen of smoke.

"No!" Grandpa coughed, and he flew upwards to get out of the cloud. Rose followed suit, with Fu on her back.

When the smoke cleared, there was an empty ground below. And a wide open door leading inside.

"Damn!" Rose exclaimed. She looked over at Grandpa. "What should we do?"

"Through the roof!" he said. The two of them sped up to the top of the building. There was a door leading inside- just like the building Grandpa lived in. To get through, they reverted to human and ran inside, searching for any traces of the satyr.

There was a noise downstairs. The Huntsclan? Probably. They found the stairs and slid down them, and found themselves standing right next to the Huntsclan in a near-empty room.

"What have you done with the satyr, uncle?" Rose demanded, pointing a human finger at him.

"Ah... you think WE are behind this, eh?"

"Um... yeah," said Rose sternly.

"Well isn't that an intriguing little turn of events?"

This new voice had come from neither of the feuding parties, but from in front of them. And this, unlike last time, was not a familiar voice.

It was a woman. In fact, she was a blond-haired woman, who appeared to be a tanning salon addict. But the oddest was that she wore a white apron down the front of her.

"I don't know who you are," she spoke again, "But I do not take kindly to trespassers."

"Wh-who are you?"

"Me?" She smiled creepily.

"I am Marnie Stewart, Martha Stewart's sister."

"Prepare to, like, die."

END CHAPTER

Special thanks to Dragoshine on the idea for the villain. This is gonna be fuuuuunnnnn... XD Well, read and review, all!

YFWE


	8. A New Villain Arises

Well... isn't this a surprise! I'm finally updating this fic, after over four months of inactivity. I dunno... I just forgot about it. Mix in writer's block, and you get... well, no update for four months. But now that school's in its last few weeks for me, I've decided to give this one a try again.

First of all, reviewer replies!

Amdragon: You want fighting? Aw, come on, dude... you KNOW I'm a terrible fight scene writer!

Worker72: It's not her real name. In fact, I don't know that Martha Stewart even has siblings. Never know, though.

Tseu Tsumi: No, she isn't working for Martha. Martha was already being evil by putting us through watching Martha's Apprentice. Isn't much else harm she could do.

And thanks to other reviewers: Lavenderpaw, 70-david, Bravekid, kvfethor, and Am-Drag Fan!

So... it's not really going to be that long, but... you know, that's okay sometimes. Sometimes. And considering that some of you out there may not know the, er, plotline of the fic up to this point, here's a quick recap.

RECAP, Chapters 1-7

One night, Jake and Grandpa head off to a cave to find a mysterious artifact named the Crystal of Tilton. They don't know what it does, but they are determined to capture it for themselves- especially when they realize that the Huntsclan is after it as well.

Well, as fate would have it, they DO meet each other. Moreover, they find the Crystal at precisely the same time. Now, Jake and Rose had both been fearing this encounter, for they knew each others' alter egos... and they were still in love with each other. How could they fight each other?

Turns out they never had to. They were both ordered by their masters to retrieve the Crystal... and, as luck would have it, touch it at the same time. This set off some kind of chain reaction that courses through Rose and Jake's bodies, and a few seconds later, they both fall unconscious.

Both are taken back to their respective bases, where they are tended to, although they still haven't woke up yet. This changes the next morning.

And, indeed, a 'Switch' has occurred.

When Grandpa awakes from his own sleep the next morning, he finds that Jake is conscious again... and staring at him from across the room, with a black Huntsclan staff clutched in his hand.

Meanwhile, at the Huntslair, Rose gains consciousness, but soon finds that she is slowly turning into a dragon...

Both are expelled from their respective households (some voluntarily, some not) and are able to eventually find refuge with the opposite party.

What ensues in the next few chapters was the individual training of both Rose and Jake, leading up to another confrontation... but this time, the villain is not the Huntsclan, but rather (drumroll)... Marnie Stewart, Martha Stewart's sister.

Sound confusing? You have no idea. I'd suggest actually reading the other chapters; it'll give you more info and perhaps a better understanding of the fic thus far. And so... off we go again, as we rejoin the two groups at the satyr safe house, and try to make more sense of this.

Enjoy!

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YFWE

Ch. 8 : A New Villain Arises

Now, I know what you're thinking.

What the hell, right?

Well, that is basically the same thing that Rose, Jake, Grandpa, Fu, and the Huntsmaster were thinking of.

For there stood, in all her glory, Marnie Stewart.

As in, Martha Stewart's sister.

Did you even know she had a sister?

Neither did I.

Nevertheless, there she was, leaving both the Huntsclan and the Dragons in complete confusement- because it was ironic; the two parties had blamed each other for the standoff at the satyr safe house just a few moments before.

"Now, wait just one second here," the Huntsmaster broke the silence by stepping forth. "WHAT, exactly, are you doing here?"

"What am I doing here?" Marnie repeated, folding her arms across her chest in annoyance. "Why, it's simple. I came here to catch you all- and it appears I have been successful; each and every one of you have fallen into my trap!"

"Your... trap? But where are the satyr?" said Grandpa.

Marnie laughed and grinned slyly, "THOSE stupid animals? Oh, they're not even here. All expenses-paid trip to the Bahamas. It's amazing how even magical creatures will turn on others for an easy buck or two."

"Alright," Rose stepped up, "we admit, you caught us. But... what do you want, exactly?"

"Ah, yes," nodded Marnie, the huge, toothy smile still present, "it's simple, really. I'm tired of living underneath my sister's shadow! I mean, I work JUST as hard as her! My spinach puffs are SO much better than hers! And OBVIOUSLY, my complexion is so much more sexier! I mean, COME ON! What's she got that I don't got!"

"Martha's Apprentice," Jake said.

"Shut it."

"Well, that's something she's got," said Jake defensively. "I mean, I'm not saying it's good, but it's still something you don't have..."

"I said... SHUT IT!"

Oh damn, this ain't good.

Marnie reached into her apron and pulled out some dough. Really. Not joking here. And it was like bread dough, not money dough. I need some money. But I'm sure none of you care.

"Dough?" Jake laughed. "Whatcha gon' do with that?"

Rose began to giggle.

"Don't laugh," Grandpa whispered. "Stay on guard. Something is amiss here..."

And indeed it was. Then Marnie took out her rolling pin. (I'm not making this up. Ok, so I am. Psh, I really know how to destroy a mood.) She threw up the dough, and swatted at it with her rolling pin.

"You've got to be kidding me," Rose said, eyes wide in disbelief.

"DUCK!" Fu yelled.

They all ducked as the pieces of dough went flying above them. Which REALLY makes no sense, if you think about it. I mean, seriously...

"Damn! I missed!" Marnie yelled in disgust. "But that's okay, because now I have fulfilled my plan! Ha!"

"Is this woman crazy? What are you talking about?" yelled Jake.

"I've introduced myself to you! Now your downfall is unavoidable! Now I can go back to my evil lair and plot on how to actually kill you! Hah!"

With these words, she dashed out the front door. No one knows where she was going, but at least THAT was over.

"Okay, anyone know what that was?" Fu asked.

"Why is she after us?" Rose wondered aloud. "What has any of us done to her?"

"I do not know," Grandpa replied. "But that lady is crazy, I think. We should not worry about her."

"...it's US you should worry about!"

This statement had come from Jake. He and the Huntsmaster were now facing Rose and Grandpa, staffs raised.

"So you guys want to get beat... again?" Rose grinned, standing as straight as she possibly could in her dragon form.

"Rose! We're not going to get into fights today!" Grandpa exclaimed. "You're not ready yet! Your dragon training is not complete!"

Rose paused. He WAS right. What COULD she do?

Jake grinned. "Heh, that's what I thought. ALL dragons are weak. Always have been, always will be."

Rose winced. So did Grandpa.

"Huntsmaster, we out," Jake said. The Huntsmaster activated his staff, and soon the two teleported from the room.

Rose sighed. "I'm sorry, Lao, I..."

"Don't worry about it. It's late. We must go home. Your dragon training resumes tomorrow."

"Alright, alright," said Rose, as they walked out of the home. She looked to the setting sun on the horizon.

_It's your fault..._

The voices returned, in a slightly less demeaning form.

_He's evil... because of you..._

Rose sighed heavily. Maybe they were right. Maybe this WAS her fault.

But that didn't matter now.

She beat her yellow wings twice, and shot off towards the horizon.

Dragon training would resume tomorrow.

And training was the only thing that could save Jake.

END CHAPTER

Whoo! I finally finished. Just in time, too. Sooo... I haven't much time, so read n' review, all! See ya soon!

YFWE


	9. The Plan and the Affirmation

And once again, I hereby update a fanfic that has been dormant for over two years

**And once again, I hereby update a fanfic that has been dormant for over two years. **

**If you would like a summary of the events thus far, please refer one chapter back; there is a summary in the foreword.**

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YFWE

Ch. 9: The Plan and the Affirmation

For the first night in what seemed like ages, Rose's sleep was nightmare-free. Free, most notably, of the thought of what Jake had become. Instead, strangely enough, her dreams were invaded by the vision of herself, as a dragon, soaring amongst the clouds, with a familiar red dragon aside her….

And so she was rather disappointed when her feeling of ecstasy vanished by the hand of Grandpa, who knocked quickly on her door that morning, his voice soft and heartening.

"Breakfast is ready if you would like it," said he. "We do have guests this morning. Your dragon training shall begin later this morning."

Rose glanced groggily at the clock near her bed. It was nine o'clock.

She yawned, dressed herself quickly, and began downstairs, the thought of her dream still fresh and real; although now nestled comfortably in the back of her mind.

Around the kitchen table were three people, two of which Rose recognized. Susan Long sat at the head of the table, one hand holding up her head as she stared thoughtfully at the back wall. Her daughter Haley glanced at her mother anxiously, and then to another Asian woman with long black hair.

"Good morning," said Lao Shi from next to a stove from which the unmistakable aroma of eggs and bacon were wafting enticingly in Rose's direction. "Susan, Sun, this is Rose, the girl I have been speaking of."

"I know you…" Haley said. "You're Jake's girlfriend, aren't you?"

"I—er, yes, I guess you could call me that."

Susan looked up. "So you are—were—the Huntsgirl."

Rose nodded.

"You realize that you've attempted to kill my son a few times, right?"

"You have to understand, I didn't know it was him. It was my duty, and—"

"Haley, could you step out of the room for a few minutes?" Grandpa interrupted, turning to Haley politely.

Haley sighed and shot a furtive look at her mother that seemed to imply that she would be asking her what had happened later on, and stepped quickly out of the room, closing the door behind her.

"Now, Susan," said Grandpa as soon as Haley shut the door. "Did we not agree that we would be non-accusational? What is done is done and is in the past."

"You're right. I apologize," Susan said, addressing Rose.

"It's no problem. Sorry for what I've done before."

"Good, now that that is out of the way," continued Grandpa, "as I said, Rose will be helping us to find Jake while Fu is off trying to find an antidote."

"There's an antidote?" asked Rose quickly.

"We don't know. In most cases, if one was to use the Crystal of Tilton, to harness its power, one would also be sure that it did not shatter into hundreds of pieces. Undoubtedly, in order for the two switched persons to switch back, they would need to touch the Crystal once more. That is no longer an option here, so thus we must find an alternative… if there is one."

"What if there isn't one?"

"…we shall cross that bridge when it presents itself. But for now, we shall go on the assumption that there is one. As I said, Fu is currently researching the existence of such an antidote."

"Do you have any idea as to where Jake may be?" Susan asked worriedly.

"I would imagine that he would be at the Huntsclan's base. And of course, Rose would know the base's location." He turned to Rose. "Am I correct?"

Rose paused to think for a moment. Well, of course she knew where the base was… but there was one simple problem that could arise.

"Yes, but there are multiple bases, besides the one in New York. They could be anywhere…"

"I have a feeling that they are in the area, though," said Grandpa. "After all, they turned up last night at the safe house. And considering that we, the dragons, are their main targets, I do not think that, at this time, they would decide to leave the state."

Rose had not thought of this. She nodded, "Okay, when do you want me to take you there?"

"Not yet. First, I want to see if the Huntsclan seeks us out. I am almost certain that they will—Jake will not be able to keep his mouth shut. The Huntsmaster will ascertain our location from him… it is, in fact, only a matter of time before they visit us here, I would imagine."

"Do you think you could capture Jake then?" Susan inquired. "I mean… knock him out or something, not really… _hurt _him."

"We will make it our top priority. I do not wish to have to venture to their base. It is a mere backup plan."

Susan nodded. "Well, thanks, dad. I should probably be taking Haley home… especially if the Huntsclan pays a visit. Good luck," she said to Grandpa and then, turning to Rose, gave an awkward nod and disappeared into a nearby room.

"Now, Rose," continued Grandpa. "Surely you know of the existence of a World Dragon Council, yes?"

"I think the Huntsmaster mentioned it once," Rose replied.

"Then allow me to introduce Ms. Sun Park," he motioned at the long-haired woman, who smiled in recognition. "She is the current Korean Dragon, as well as, more recently, an assistant to the Inner Circle of the Council."

"Lao called me here for a reason," said Sun, addressing Rose. "As with all dragons in this world, you are required to be affirmed as the American Dragon by a member of the Council. Unfortunately, the rest of the Council was busy today, so I have been sent in their place."

"Oh… well, okay," breathed Rose. "What do I… have to do to be affirmed?"

"It will be your dragon training for today," Grandpa said. "Show Sun what you can do."

"That's… it?"

"Indeed it is," Sun said. "Granted that it is satisfactory."

Rose froze. She certainly hoped that her abilities as a dragon were enough… but she had not had much practice, nor much experience, as a dragon. What if it was not enough? What if Sun failed her? What would happen then?

And, as if Sun had read her mind: "Don't worry, I won't be too hard on you. I'm aware of these… er, _unusual _circumstances that have befallen you and the former American Dragon. Believe me, you do not have to worry."

Rose heaved a sigh of relief. This was good.

And moments later, there they were on the roof of Grandpa's shop. Grandpa and Sun stood side by side, while Rose stood facing them. Fu was nowhere to be seen—presumably still searching for an antidote.

"Dragon form, please," said Sun. Rose shut her eyes and concentrated. In moments she found herself standing there in her now-familiar yellow dragon form.

Sun reached into her pocket and pulled out five small objects that looked strikingly like crystals. With one large toss she hoisted them into the air. "Catch these while in midair."

Rose did not take even a moment of hesitation, launching herself into the air. It was a bright sunny day; the crystals were extremely easy to find as they glinted in the sun's rays. She found three in basically the same spot and caught them in her left talon. Another she found falling towards the ground… she caught this one in her right talon. The final one, however, was hurtling towards the ground at an incredibly rapid pace. Quickly, she soared towards the ground, pulled up, and caught the final one with her tail, with mere inches to spare.

"Breathe me a stream of fire for five seconds," said Sun. Rose obliged; this came rather easily to her. And so, following this, Sun grinned. "One last task," she said. "Fly around that building," she pointed at a nearby skyscraper, "and back, as quickly as you can."

Fu stepped from the door leading to the rooftop. Rose's gaze loitered on him for a second, before she took off into the air, speeding off towards the skyscraper.

"I've got a match," Fu said as Grandpa and Sun watched Rose soar off. "The cave that the Crystal of Tilton came from is mostly made of sandstone. However, deeper in, the cave becomes made of limestone. It opens out into a small pool surrounded by stalactites and stalagmites. There are tiny gemstones at the bottom of this pool. Get the two switched to touch one of the gemstones, and voila!—an antidote."

"Thank you for the information!"

The Huntsmaster ascended past Grandpa, Fu, and Sun, flying along on his Huntsstaff. "Yo, wait up!" yelled Jake's voice, as the Huntsboy flew clumsily behind him, without even the slightest look at Grandpa.

They were heading towards Rose.

"No!" cried Grandpa. He changed into his dragon form and took off after the Huntsmaster and Jake. Sun, sensing danger, followed.

Rose had circled around the building and had begun to descend back towards the rooftop when she was suddenly slammed into by a rather brute force—the Huntsmaster. She had not expected this, and started to fall towards the pavement below her—

It had been a critical blow, one that jarred each and every bone and muscle in her body. Consequently, it seemed, she could not move… save for her eyes. She could move her eyes. And all they witnessed was her falling, falling, falling…

A dark shape closed in on her, so that it was inches from her face. She saw it only momentarily, glancing then at the impending ground, which was closer than before.

Two hands clenched her body, encompassing her. And then, finally, her eyesight went.

END CHAPTER

**I think I've left open a good amount of questions here, wouldn't you agree? And I didn't even mention Marnie Stewart, the crazy new villain from the eighth chapter. Rest assured, she will return. **

**Anyway, I'm glad I was able to finally update this! I'm hoping that I'll be able to update often and have just as much fun writing this as I did before.**

**I hope that I'll both retain and gain some readers along the way as well! Let's hope so.**

**And to dragoshine, if you read this: sorry that I had to stray from the original plan. I really wanted to get this done. Perhaps someday we could try to work on those ideas you had in another story… truth is, though, I can't remember what most of those ideas were.**

**I do hope you'll review. Reviews are wonderful, don't you think? **

**Yours in fiction,**

**YFWE**


	10. The Escape

**So I apologize for the long wait. I started college recently, which has been absolute hell on me thus far, and I really haven't gotten much time to write. In fact, I really should be studying for Public Speaking, aka My Imminent Downfall. Most of this was written with my first quiz in that class looming. If all of a sudden my storytelling seems to become a bit more lighthearted, the test was likely easy. If it seems a bit down, it was as I expect it to be—one of the worst experiences of my life. More on this after the chapter is complete. **

**Til then: thanks to all who reviewed! It was greatly appreciated, trust me—what'd I get, six reviews? You've no idea how happy I was the following week.**

**Anyways, enjoy!**

Switch

Ch. 10: The Escape

YFWE

The woman slammed the door behind her as she entered her home, a dejected frown spread across her face. Almost immediately, a short, balding man shuffled to her side, sliding off her coat for her. "How did it go, dear?" came his nasally-whine of a voice, as he stared up at his wife with a hint of concern.

"Well, I thought it had gone well, Franz," replied Marnie Stewart. "And yet… I am not satisfied."

"Will you stop calling me Franz? My name is Robert, and we've been married for ten years."

"This isn't the time for jokes, Franz. I went into that safehouse with the intent of striking fear into my enemies, and instead I came out looking like a crazy woman. This is not what I wanted. Not at all."

"What happened?" Robert asked.

"I'll explain to you later," said Marnie. "Just leave me be for now." She stared off toward a nearby room. "I gotta go bake something."

Robert slowly slid his hands around his wife's waist, to where the strings of her apron came together. "Oh, can't it wait? How about you tell me what happened…" he began to fumble with the strings, trying to untie the apron.

Within seconds, Robert was on the floor, staring up in shock at the otherwise not-so-imposing woman, who had her hand on his forearm. "NEVER," she said, "touch the apron."

"O-okay, I'm s—"

"Did I ever tell you how my first and second husbands died, Franz?"

"N…no…"

"Extremely unfortunate accidents," her eyes narrowed. "And oh, how _shattered _I was—I do hope that you don't take the same road as them…."

She relinquished her hold on Robert's arm and walked into the kitchen, leaving her husband to stare at her in disbelief in the front room.

"Filthy creatures!" she screamed as she threw a few pots out onto a central table. She added to this a few ingredients—flour, eggs, baking powder among them—and feverishly began to cook. "My revenge will come soon enough…"

Minutes passed before it was evident that Marnie Stewart was making more dough. She sat for another minute, however, staring at the mixture, as if contemplating its very existence and makeup. "Needs a bit more weight this time, I'd say," she said. "We'll up the ingredients—double the input, double the output. And then, make the portions a bit larger, yes, that will do."

Soon there were bowls of dough scattered all throughout the kitchen. In fact, more, it seemed, than what she had possessed when she last met the dragons and the Huntsclan. And still, still, she did not seem satisfied. "A few more 'special ingredients' could be useful," she said to herself, and reached under the table into a tiny cupboard, from which she pulled a handful of small vials. She poured the contents of each vial into a different bowl. And then, she began to stir the dough once again, kneading it, shaping it, forming it….

Whilst the dough on the table sat unattended, finally finished, Marnie's attention turned to the window nearest her, a window that was placed in the direction of the battle from which she had just came. "Soon," she said quietly. "Soon they will know of my power. Soon, dragons, the Huntsclan, and magical creatures alike shall fear the name of Marnie Stewart. I shall see to it myself."

(end)

Rose awoke to the sound of talking—two people, it seemed. She recognized one immediately as the Huntsmaster, her uncle. The other had a deeper voice, one that Rose truly could not pinpoint. She concluded quickly, however, that it was one of her uncle's colleagues in the Huntsclan, perhaps another huntsmaster from a different regiment of the Huntsclan. At any rate, their words were rushed, as if much needed to be done. And, thought Rose, they seemed to be right outside her door.

She was in something resembling a holding cell—yes, that was it. She had seen such a cell before during her tenure with the Huntsclan: she had taken a prisoner there once. But she _herself _had never been a prisoner by ANY means.

"—don't care how 'energetic' he may be, the boy does not belong here!" snapped the voice Rose knew to belong to the Huntsmaster.

"Be reasonable, Othello. He is not of _their _kind anymore!" came the other voice.

"But he was. He was."

Rose slid from the cot that she had been placed in and tiptoed towards the door, listening even more intently than before. She placed her hands on the door and turned her right ear against it, praying silently that no one would decide to open it.

"Who's to say, then, that he cannot revert back to his original form at sometime in the future?" said the Huntsmaster. "Or that he still feels some sympathies towards his former kind? He can't be trusted, Kaustubh."

"Then what do you plan on doing with him?" Kaustubh asked. "At the very least, tell me this!"

"Well, not that it _concerns _you, but I was fortunate enough to gather some highly useful information from the dragons themselves."

"Oh?" said Kaustubh interestedly.

"Why yes, it so happens that further into the cave in which all of this began, there are tiny gemstones, which can act as an antidote to our little 'problem.' But of course, I shall have to get there before the dragons do."

"Why is this? I am confused, Othello; do you not desire the gemstones for the same reason as the dragons? The outcome will be the same, regardless of who gets there first!"

"Now, that is not entirely true," said the Huntsman sinisterly.

"Do explain, then!"

"You see, my brother," the Huntsmaster started again, "once we possess the gemstones, we shall be able to switch Jake and Rose back. Jake knows this, and I am sure as well that Rose knows this is imminent.

"The problem is that the both of them are notably good friends. My fear is that, even when Rose is switched back, she will still be drawn to him, and will oppose me once more."

_He's got that right, _thought Rose.

"Therefore, I shall make it my immediate priority to dispose of Jake _as soon as _he has become a dragon again. For then, the true American Dragon will finally be vanquished, and Rose will see no reason to disobey me!"

Rose gasped and for a split second thought of opening the door and hurrying off to tell Jake. But the door was likely locked, and to boot, her uncle and Kaustubh were right outside.

"So… kill the American Dragon once he has been returned to his right state?"

"This is the plan."

"What does Jake know?" asked Kaustubh.

"As far as he knows, we are going to the cave to destroy the gemstones. He thinks that we will not be changing him back, that he will be staying as part of the Huntsclan for all of time. He's quite eager to carry out this plan as well… it almost pains me to have to lie to him."

There were footsteps as the Huntsmaster and Kaustubh walked away. "Almost," he heard her uncle repeat, followed by laughter from both men.

Once she knew they were a good distance away, Rose reached down and grasped the door handle. She did not figure that it would be open, but it was sure worth a try—she needed to return to Grandpa, and to Fu, and to Sun! They needed to know of the Huntsclan's plan. And furthermore, if she was unable to open it, there were always her dragon powers….

But to her surprise, the door clicked open without any sort of resistance whatsoever. She had never been locked in to begin with!

It had not been two seconds before she was in her dragon form, soaring through the halls of the Huntsclan's secret base. She was lucky, she thought to herself, that she knew the place—it would be far easier to escape.

She rounded a corner, knowing this to be a direct shoot to an exit. Up ahead, she watched as uniformed Huntsclan members flung themselves from rooms, facing the approaching dragon. Apparently, someone had discovered that their 'captive' had been freed.

But they were no problem for Rose, no problem at all. She had become quite good with breathing fire, and shot an imposing fireball through the hall, scattering the Huntsclan and creating, once more, a clear path. The fireball smashed into the door at the end of the hallway, and clear light shone inside the corridor—she was almost out alive. She folded her wings close to her body so that she could fit within the confines of the doorframe, and, with ease, shot outside into the welcoming fresh air.

Immediately she spun to her left, as she knew this to be the direction of Grandpa's shop. She did hope they would be there… she had plenty to tell them and they would have to act fast. Jake's life depended on it.

She did not look back once—a mistake, as it would turn out. For if she had turned to look back at the base, she would've seen, standing in the doorway, a black-haired boy, the boy that she was trying to save.

Jake watched the dragon soar amongst the clouds, seeing her outline become fainter and fainter as she moved further away from the base. His mouth curved into a sly grin. He turned from the sight he had beheld and began to go back inside, uttering as he went: "Exactly as we planned."

END CHAPTER

**What does this mean?!**

**I'll be back next time (hopefully much sooner) to let you know.**

**In the meantime, I have to go take this Public Speaking test now. Wish me luck! Read and review, as always!**

**Yours in fiction,**

**YFWE**


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